1983 AJAX Dog Food

[4reals]

I found this card by chance and picked it up on ebay having never heard of it or seen one before.

The seller calls it a 1983 AJAX Dog Food card and also has a Chili Davis (giants) and Kent Hrbeck (Twins) for sale. I haven't seen any other examples of this set. I also haven't been able to find it cataloged in SCD or Beckett Almanac to view a checklist and determine who the other players in the set are.

Do these go by any other names? The backs are blank and there are no other print markings or designations. Just what you see on the card front. Am I missing something?

[sdkammeyer]

might be some help here..... includes a checklist as well.

http://www.freedomcardboard.com/foru...ck-others.html

[Bob Lemke]

Just to reiterate . . . both the "1983" and "1984" Ajax Dog Food card sets were an unauthorized collectors' issue, i.e., bad-looking "Broders."

[4reals]

Well, that was easy...you both summed it up pretty well. Thanks for the link to the other thread...I've gotten out of the habit of searching over there.

That thread on FCB fails to mention two things though. And Bob, you're probably the guy that can answer this too (forgive me if this is a tired subject that you've had to repeat multiple times in the past), but ...

1) How was it determined that these were AJAX dog food cards since there is no mention of AJAX on the card? Were they distributed in plastic or cellophane packs inside the dog food or were they a test run item for the following year? '83 wasn't that long ago...I'm sure some collectors on this board would remember possibly finding them while feeding their canine companions.
2) What was the determining factor in changing it from an "authorized" collector's issue from earlier SCD publications to an "unauthorized" one? Is there certain criteria used for all cards and/or sets in determining what is authorized? And what person(s) determines this, is there some type of committee or something?

Thanks for your patience with my ignorance...

[4reals]

After further inspection it appears as though the word AJAX faintly appears (very faintly - can barely make it out) in the bottom left black border. I looked at the other examples in the FCB forum and they have the same...still wondering if they were actually distributed in product. If so, I wonder if unopened packs of any of these exist?

[sdkammeyer]

Yes, they were inserted as singles in a cellophane wrapper inside the dog food. I believe (if my memory is correct) the card/wrapper was attached with some glue on the inside of the bag towards the bottom on the side.

I think I still own a few of these, and I can VIVIDLY remember begging my parents to buy that specific type of dog food just for the card.

I can also remember getting bitched at for opening/dumping the entire bag as soon as we got home